Mountain River Autumn

I had a couple of clear days after the release of the second issue of FlyStream Magazine, so what better way to use that time than to jump in the car with friends Max and Andrew, and head to the north-east?

The magnificent Mitta near Eskdale.

The magnificent Mitta near Eskdale.

It’s only just autumn, but already the mountain valleys look and feel different to a few weeks ago. There’s a tinge of green in the grass and a tinge of colour in the deciduous trees. By mid afternoon it’s almost hot in the sun, but the heat dies away as soon as the shadows lengthen, and the nights have a chill that hints of the winter that lurks over the horizon.

Snowy Creek

Snowy Creek

We fished the Mitta tailwater and Snowy Creek, and had a quick look at a couple of other small streams. All held healthy numbers of trout and were in great condition – clear, cool and flowing well. I wrote a fair bit about the Mitta tailwater in the latest magazine and it was almost as if the river knew. It looked magnificent and we spotted a couple of real monsters. Yet despite landing several good fish, I never quite felt we’d cracked it. In the last hour we might have come close… but that’s a story for another time.

A Snowy rainbow.

A Snowy rainbow.

The Snowy was the perfect foil to the Mitta’s enigmatic ways. As has been the way on many waters throughout the season, this beautiful stream wasn’t a pushover. However if you fished carefully and persistently and concentrated hard on perfect drifts through the likely lies, the trout were happy enough to eat a size 12 Stimulator. Good, honest fastwater fishing! Overall, autumn on the mountain rivers is off to a fine start.

Max with a Mitta brown.

Max with a nice Mitta brown.